STMicroelectronics VD55H1 time-of-flight sensor

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STMicroelectronics has announced a high-resolution time-of-flight sensor, the VD55H1, designed to bring advanced 3D depth imaging to smartphones and other devices. The sensor maps three-dimensional surfaces by measuring the distance to over half a million points. Objects can be detected up to 5 m from the sensor, and even further with patterned illumination.

The product addresses emerging AR/VR market use cases including room mapping, gaming and 3D avatars. In smartphones, the sensor enhances the performance of camera-system features including bokeh effect, multi-camera selection and video segmentation. Face-authentication security is addressed with high-resolution 3D images to protect phone unlocking, mobile payment and any smart system involving secure transactions and access control. In robotics, the product provides high-fidelity 3D scene mapping for all target distances to enable new and more powerful capabilities.

Indirect time-of-flight (iToF) sensors, such as VD55H1, calculate the distance to objects by measuring the phase shift between the reflected signal and the emitted signal. This is a complementary technique to direct time of flight (dToF) sensors, which measure the time for transmitted signals to be reflected back to the sensor. The product features a 672 x 804 back-side illuminated (BSI) pixel array for iToF depth sensing.

It has the ability to operate with a modulation frequency of 200 MHz with more than 85% demodulation contrast at 940 nm; incumbent sensors typically operate around 100 MHz. In addition, multi-frequency operation, an advanced depth-unwrapping algorithm, low pixel noise floor and high pixel dynamic range enable good measurement accuracy over long-ranging distance. Depth accuracy is better than 1% and typical precision is 0.1% of distance.

Other features include a short capture sequence that supports a frame rate up to 120 fps and should improve motion-blur robustness. Advanced clock and phase management including spread spectrum clock generator (SSCG) provides multi-device interference mitigation and optimised electromagnetic compatibility. The power consumption can be reduced to less than 100 mW in some streaming modes, to help prolong the runtime of battery-operated devices.

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